Intrinsic value of American Airlines Group - AAL

We calculate the intrinsic value of AAL stock by summing up the current values of future distributable cash flows generated by the company and dividing the sum by the number of outstanding shares. As such, the intrinsic value calculation depends entirely on projections. The more accurate your projections of the company's performance are - the more reliable is the intrinsic value calculation result. Please make sure to check the stock valuation input data below and adjust it if necessary. The quality of the output (intrinsic valuation result) is only as good as the quality of the input. See also DISCLAIMERS.

American Airlines Group Inc. is a holding company. The Company's primary business activity is the operation of a network air carrier, providing scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. The Company operates through American segment, which provides air transportation for passengers and cargo. The Company's cargo division provides a range of freight and mail services with facilities and interline connections available across the globe. Together with its regional airline subsidiaries and third-party regional carriers operating as American Eagle, its airline operated an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries, principally from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, District of Columbia, as of December 31, 2016. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, approximately 199 million passengers boarded its mainline and regional flights.

FINANCIAL RATIOS of American Airlines Group (AAL)

Valuation Ratios

P/E Ratio

6.1

Price to Sales

0.4

Price to Book

4.3

Price to Tangible Book

Price to Cash Flow

2.5

Price to Free Cash Flow

20.5

Growth Rates

Sales Growth Rate

-2%

Sales - 3 Yr. Growth Rate

%

EPS Growth Rate

%

EPS - 3 Yr. Growth Rate

%

Capital Spending Gr. Rate

-6.8%

Cap. Spend. - 3 Yr. Gr. Rate

13%

Financial Strength

Quick Ratio

3

Current Ratio

0

LT Debt to Equity

594.2%

Total Debt to Equity

643.2%

Interest Coverage

6

Management Effectiveness

Return On Assets

6.5%

Ret/ On Assets - 3 Yr. Avg.

11.4%

Return On Total Capital

9.8%

Ret/ On T. Cap. - 3 Yr. Avg.

19%

Return On Equity

56.8%

Return On Equity - 3 Yr. Avg.

-185.4%

Asset Turnover

0.8

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin

61.9%

Gross Margin - 3 Yr. Avg.

57.3%

EBITDA Margin

17.4%

EBITDA Margin - 3 Yr. Avg.

15.8%

Operating Margin

13.2%

Oper. Margin - 3 Yr. Avg.

12.7%

Pre-Tax Margin

10.7%

Pre-Tax Margin - 3 Yr. Avg.

9.8%

Net Profit Margin

6.7%

Net Profit Margin - 3 Yr. Avg.

10.7%

Effective Tax Rate

37.8%

Eff/ Tax Rate - 3 Yr. Avg.

-5.6%

Payout Ratio

8.4%

AAL stock valuation input parameters

Revenue. Company's revenue (or sales) is always the starting point of any cash flow forecast. In the AAL stock intrinsic value calculation we used $42207 million for the last fiscal year's total revenue generated by American Airlines Group. The default revenue input number comes from 0001 income statement of American Airlines Group. You may change it if you feel that it should be adjusted for some unusual circumstances that are not expected to be repeated in the future or if you already know (from interim financial statements, for example) that this year's revenue is going to be quite different.

Revenue growth rate. Forecasted future revenue growth rate is the most important input parameter for the intrinsic value calculation. Unlike other input parameters that are reasonably expected to be in line with their historic averages or their historic trends, the revenue growth rate by and large is a wild card: nobody really knows what the company's revenue will be in the future. Of course, the level of unpredictability is different for different industries (utility companies being the most predictable and, thus, less risky).
We use three input parameters to forecast the revenue growth rate in our AAL stock valuation model: a) initial revenue growth rate of 3.7% whose default value is the revenue growth rate in the most recent quarter compared to the quarterly revenue a year ago; b) terminal revenue growth rate of 5% whose default value is chosen to be close to the average nominal (i.e. not adjusted for inflation) GDP growth rate; and c) revenue decline factor of 0.9, which stipulates that revenue growth rate in each forecasted year will be equal to the difference of the revenue growth rate in the preceding year and the terminal revenue growth rate multiplied by this revenue decline factor (with the passage of time the revenue growth rate will be approaching the terminal revenue growth rate, but not quite reaching it - though the difference could be infinitesimally small).
At the revenue decline factor of 1, the future revenue growth rate is forecasted to be constant and equal to the initial revenue growth rate. The smaller the revenue decline factor, the faster the revenue growth rate will approach the terminal revenue growth.

Discount rate. The discount rate is used for determining the present value of future cash flows: future cash flows are "discounted" as at normal conditions (that translate into positive expected return on investment) one dollar today is worth more than the same dollar in the future. Unlike all other valuation models, we use variable discount rate, i.e. it increases for each consecutive year. This is done to account for higher risk of cash flows coming in further in the future.
The initial discount rate of 10.3%, whose default value for AAL is calculated based on our internal credit rating of American Airlines Group, is applied to the cash flow expected to be received a year from now (well, actually, to be precise, in the financial year following the base year - the last year for which we have financial statements). For each consecutive year the discount rate is multiplied by the discount rate multiplier of 1.05, e.i. each year it increases by 5%. Feel free to change this number to correspond to your level of risk assessment of American Airlines Group.
By the way, it is easy to set the discount rate to be constant (this would make comparison with other valuation models easier): just set the discount rate multiplier equal to 1 and chose the magnitude of the initial discount rate to your liking.

Variable cost ratio is the ratio of variable costs (i.e. costs that fluctuate with fluctuation of the volume of production) to the revenue expressed as a percentage. In the calculation of intrinsic value of AAL stock the variable cost ratio is equal to 86.8%.

Fixed operating expenses is just that - expenses that are not dependant on the volume of production. They are set to $0 million in the base year in the intrinsic value calculation for AAL stock. These expenses increase with the level of inflation in subsequent years.

Interest rate on debt is the average all-in rate of interest paid by the company on its debt. It is set at 5.4% for American Airlines Group.

Corporate tax rate of 27% is the nominal tax rate for American Airlines Group. In reality, companies find ways to pay much less taxes than that or not to pay them at all.

Cash flow adjustment could be used for any adjustment the investor deems necessary. Most commonly we use this field to account for stock options-related effects in excess of what is reported on the company's income statement. The cash flow adjustment is expressed as a percentage of the revenue, and in the current valuation of the AAL stock is equal to 0%.

Production assets are the company's assets used for manufacturing products or provision of services. In the valuation model input table they are expressed as a percentage of revenue and for AAL are equal to 84.8%.

Life of production assets of 19.3 years is the average useful life of capital assets used in American Airlines Group operations. It is used to calculate yearly capital expenditures needed to keep these assets in good order - we call it the maintenance CAPEX.

Working capital is the difference between the company's current assets and liabilities. In the model we use the ratio of working capital to revenue, which for AAL is equal to -21.4%. A negative number means that the company is apt at using financial resources of its suppliers and customers; a large positive number, on the other hand, means that it either provides in-kind financing to others or is not good at managing its inventories.

Book value of equity - $-780 million for American Airlines Group - is used in calculation of the "floor" for intrinsic valuation based on the discounted cash flow (DCF) method. Even if the prospects are very bad for a company, its assets could always be sold now for their current fair market value.

Shares outstanding of 468.153 million for American Airlines Group is needed to calculate the intrinsic value of one share.

Market capitalization is used here only for reference purposes and as a quick check that the share price and the number of shares outstanding numbers are correct - something especially to be cognizant about at stock splits. So, the market capitalization of American Airlines Group at the current share price and the inputted number of shares is $15.0 billion.

Management's discussion and analysis

Together with our wholly-owned regional airline subsidiaries and third-party regional carriers operating as American Eagle, our airline operates an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries, principally from our hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. In 2016, approximately 199 million passengers boarded our mainline and regional flights.

We are committed to consistently delivering safe, reliable and convenient service to our customers in every aspect of our operation, to building the best employee relations in the industry and to providing returns for our stockholders. In January 2017, we were named the 2017 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World, which cited the integration work related to the Merger, our operational and customer service improvements and the investments we are making in our product.

Operational Highlights

During 2016, we made significant investments related to our integration and to continue to improve our product offerings and operational performance.

Integration Accomplishments

•

Integrated all mainline pilots and our mainline fleet into a single scheduling system, allowing us to schedule pilots and aircraft seamlessly across the network regardless of which pre-Merger airline they came from

•

Reached interim agreements with the TWU-IAM that allows our mainline mechanics and ramp personnel to be able to work together and be cross-utilized. Additionally, we ratified five-year JCBAs for dispatchers, flight crew training instructors, simulator pilot instructors and flight simulator engineers

•

Completed the painting of all US Airways mainline aircraft in the American livery. Repainting of former US Airways Express regional jets is expected to be finished in mid-2017

Investments in Our Product and Operations

•

Invested approximately $4.4 billion in new aircraft, including 55 new mainline and 42 new regional aircraft. As a result of our ongoing fleet renewal program, we have the youngest fleet of the major U.S. network carriers

•

Hired additional personnel and invested in new equipment and technology to support our operations. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we achieved our best monthly completion factor, on-time performance, and baggage handling performance since the Merger

•

Redesigned our AAdvantage® loyalty program to award mileage credits based on the price of tickets purchased, enabling elite members to earn even more miles based on their status level. During 2016, the AAdvantage® program was named Best Elite Program in the Americas by the Freddie Awards

•

Introduced Premium Economy, a new class of service on international flights with more legroom, wider seats, and enhanced meal service and amenity kits

•

Made several other customer experience improvements including the reintroduction of free snacks in the main cabin, the launch of complimentary in-flight entertainment and the redesign and upgrade of many Admirals Club lounges

Financial Overview

The U.S. Airline Industry

In 2016, the U.S. airline industry benefited from lower fuel prices. However, the reductions in fuel costs were offset by year-over-year declines in revenue. Both domestic and international markets were impacted by competitive capacity growth. International markets were also impacted by macroeconomic softness and foreign currency weakness.

Jet fuel prices closely follow the price of Brent crude oil. On average, the price of Brent crude oil per barrel was approximately 17% lower in 2016 as compared to 2015. The average daily spot price for Brent crude oil during 2016 was $44 per barrel as compared to an average daily spot price of $52 per barrel during 2015. On a daily basis, Brent crude oil prices fluctuated during 2016 between a high of $55 per barrel to a low of $26 per barrel, and closed the year on December 31, 2016 at $55 per barrel.

While jet fuel prices have declined year-over-year as described above, uncertainty exists regarding the economic conditions driving these declines. See Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors – “Downturns in economic conditions could adversely affect our business”and “Our business is very dependent on the price and availability of aircraft fuel. Continued periods of high volatility in fuel costs, increased fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a significant negative impact on our operating results and liquidity.”

AAG’s 2016 Results

The selected financial data presented below is derived from AAG’s audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8A of this report and should be read in conjunction with those financial statements and the related notes thereto.

Year EndedDecember 31,

Increase(Decrease)

PercentIncrease(Decrease)

2016

2015

(In millions, except percentage changes)

Mainline and regional passenger revenues

$

34,579

$

35,512

$

(933

)

(2.6

)

Cargo and other operating revenues

5,601

5,478

123

2.3

Total operating revenues

40,180

40,990

(810

)

(2.0

)

Mainline and regional aircraft fuel and related taxes

6,180

7,456

(1,276

)

(17.1

)

Salaries, wages and benefits

10,890

9,524

1,366

14.4

Total operating expenses

34,896

34,786

110

0.3

Operating income

5,284

6,204

(920

)

(14.8

)

Pre-tax income

4,299

4,616

(317

)

(6.9

)

Income tax provision (benefit)

1,623

(2,994

)

4,617

nm

Net income

2,676

7,610

(4,934

)

(64.8

)

Pre-tax income

$

4,299

$

4,616

$

(317

)

(6.9

)

Adjusted for: Total pre-tax special items (1)

772

1,674

(902

)

(53.9

)

Pre-tax income excluding special items

$

5,071

$

6,290

$

(1,219

)

(19.4

)

Results of Operations – 2016 Compared to 2015

We realized net income of $2.7 billion in 2016. This compares to $7.6 billion of net income in 2015, which included a special $3.0 billion non-cash tax benefit as we reversed the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets, which include our federal and state NOLs. As a result of the reversal of the valuation allowance, we recorded a $1.6 billion provision for income taxes in 2016, which is substantially non-cash due to the utilization of NOLs. Accordingly, amounts reported in 2016 for income tax provision and net income are not comparable to 2015.

We realized pre-tax income of $4.3 billion and $4.6 billion in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Excluding the effects of pre-tax net special items, pre-tax income was $5.1 billion and $6.3 billion in 2016 and 2015, respectively. For reconciliation of pre-tax and net income excluding special items to their comparable measures on a GAAP basis, see Part II, Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data –“Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Our 2016 pre-tax results on both a GAAP basis and excluding pre-tax net special items were impacted by a decline in revenues due to lower yields. Salaries, wages and benefits costs were higher in 2016, driven by our new labor contracts and the addition of an employee profit sharing program; however, these increases were substantially offset by a year-over-year decline in fuel costs.

Total operating revenues in 2016 decreased $810 million, or 2.0%, from 2015 driven by lower passenger revenues offset in part by higher other revenue. Our mainline and regional TRASM was 14.70 cents in 2016, a 3.7% decrease as compared to 15.25 cents in 2015.

Total passenger revenues declined $933 million, or 2.6%, in 2016 from 2015 driven by a 2.8% decrease in yield due to competitive capacity growth, macroeconomic softness outside of the United States and foreign currency weakness.

Cargo revenue decreased $60 million, or 7.9%, in 2016 from 2015 driven primarily by a decrease in domestic and international freight yields.

Other revenue primarily includes revenue associated with our loyalty program, baggage fees, ticketing change fees, airport clubs and inflight services. Other revenue increased $183 million, or 3.9%, in 2016 from 2015 driven by an increase in loyalty program revenue. In 2016 and 2015, other revenues associated with our loyalty program were $2.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, of which $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, related to the marketing component of mileage sales and other marketing related payments. This year-over-year increase was due to our new co-branded credit card agreements which became effective in the third quarter of 2016. See Note 1(i) to AAG’s Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8A for additional information on the loyalty program.

Total operating expenses were $34.9 billion in 2016, an increase of $110 million, or 0.3%, from 2015. The increase in operating expenses was due to higher salaries, wages and benefits driven by new labor contracts and the addition of an employee profit sharing program; however, these costs were substantially offset by a year-over-year decline in fuel costs. See detailed explanations below relating to changes in mainline operating costs per ASM.